Sunday, June 10, 2012

Workspace. The Photoshop workspace comprises several different windows that gives access to the different tools, functions, and commands used to edit and correct photographs. By default, these are set to a standard setup, but they can all be placed anywhere on the screen depending on your preference.

Welcome- when Photoshop is opened, a Welcome screen appears. While it has useful links to tutorials and information on the program, seeing it every time Photoshop is used may become distracting, so untick the Show This Dialog at Start Up option. It can always be recalled if necessary from the Help menu.

Image window (Canvas)- when you open a photograph, it is placed within a canvas. Many images can be opened at the same time (providing the computer has enough RAM), and the canvas size can be adjusted to fit in the workspace by dragging the bottom right-hand corner.

Menu bar- similar to most computer programs, the Menu bar contains the menu that leads to different parts of Photoshop.

Tool Options bar- beneath the Menu bar is the Tool Options bar, which changes depending on the tool being used. The Tool Option bar allows users to customize the selected tool's settings.

Toolbox- the main tools used for editing and correcting images are held in the Toolbox. It contain more than 50 tools, many of which are hidden behind others and accessed by clicking on the small black triangle in the corner of the icon.

Palettes- various palettes containing important controls for the program, such as Layers and History, can be placed together on the right-hand side of the workspace (or anywhere else on the screen). Several appear by default, though these can be removed or replaced by others from the Window menu.

Palette docking- to keep the workspace tidy, palettes can be moved to the Palette Dock, next to the tool option bar. Their titles are displayed in a line. Click on a title to open the palette.

History- the History palette lists recent changes made, and it is simple to click back to a previous step if a mistake is made. Use the Snapshot function to save any stage of editing.

Photoshop elements workspace- the elements workspace is similar to Photoshop, but also includes a Shortcuts bar where common commands such as Open and Print can be accessed quickly.